His name may not be familiar to you yet someday, Jesus Ballonte hopes his styles will be in your closet.
Ballonte is taking a trip to the nation's mecca of fashion this week to pitch his idea to a panel of judges in hopes of launching his career as a business mogul.
The 18-year-old is hoping to join the ranks of Sean John, Jay-Z and Master P, cashing in on style with his line of urban clothing with a professional flair.
If the judges in New York pick him, his company Chuyz Fresh Fits will have a $10,000 start. Ballonte told the Examiner the motivation behind his business model:
I’ve seen a lot of urban youth and they are wearing a lot of baggy jeans. [My items] are ultra-premium denim and they are at affordable prices. I decided that I wanted to change the common style of the jeans that are baggy ... so you can be able to wear them with a suit or something and be presentable.
Ballonte is a finalist in the Network for Teaching Entrepeneurship (NFTE) Bay Area Regional Youth Business Plan -- a program aimed at turning ambitious students into successful entrepeneurs. He'll be compteing against students from around the country for the big-money prize on Wednesday.
Ballonte told the Examiner he's had a couple hundred of requests for his styles since he started wearing the jeans around the Bay Area, taking the pulse of the City's fashionably-sensible.
If he wins, Ballonte will use some of the money to launch a Web site to get his business going.
Good luck, Jesus!